Coffee Face Mask + Body Scrub (updated)
Well needless to say that this Coffee Face Mask won’t protect you from Covid-19 but it will make your skin feel and look great, so there’s that!
Skin is such a visual indicator of health, and I’ve found having smooth, glowing skin makes me feel so good. Though living in the city and being around pollution a lot of the time, or just not getting enough sleep, can really dry my face out and emphasise my tiredness.
I’ve had a few people in the past ask me for my coffee face mask recipe when they’ve seen my stories when I am making or using it.
Just to be clear, this is a face mask, not a face scrub. I think scrubs can sometimes be harmful to our skin, especially the skin on our faces which are more sensitive and delicate. I think coffee scrubs are good for the body though because it is a great exfoliant, but our faces have much more sensitive skin and our bodies can handle the rougher scrub. So it’s important to note that this is a leave on coffee mask that when washed off will make your skin look sparkly and feel so unbelievably amazing - soft and smooth.
So. what’s the secret?… well, in this recipe I use fresh coffee (I have in the past reused coffee grinds). But I like to use fresh coffee mainly to get the most benefits from more caffeine into my skin - and I noticed the difference. If you want to change this recipe as a scrub for your body, you can use used filter ground coffee waste!♻️
Ingredients:
50-60g FRESH espresso ground coffee (as fine as possible). I grind mine in a Ninja Bullet which pulverises it into an almost powder.
6-8 Dried wild sage leaves pulverised into a powder or very fine (I ordered these on Amazon)
3 or 4 of your favourite essential oils about 4 d-6 drops each.
1 T Coconut oil slightly heated to melt
2 T An avocado/rapeseed blend (but you could just use cold pressed avocado oil and a drizzle of Olive oil) You can buy online or just find a bottle at the supermarket!
Hand mix it all together until it forms a paste like consistency. Add more avocado oil as needed so the coffee looks saturated/wet
Essential Oils I used:
Bergamot: purifies and is a natural cleanser
Ylang Ylang: balancing and regulation of oil production
Rosemary: antiseptic, hydrates and is good if you have skin conditions like acne or eczema (I have eczema/dry skin sometimes)
Sweet orange: anti-bacterial and. Helps circulation, encourages collagen and cell production. Plus I love citrus smells.
Method:
Spread it on your face with the back of a teaspoon or spatula. It should glide on easily and not too thick. Be sure to take a moment to breathe in all the aromas, and smile.
Leave it on your skin for at least 10 minutes but longer for 20-30minutes is good too. Then wet your face with your fingertips and gently wash off with warm water. You can use a flannel/reusable bamboo wipe - *be sure to not get it in your eyes. Rinse well with water if you do.
Voila! Your skin will look fresh, smooth and sparkly like mine!
EXTRA TIP:
You can buy tinted glass cosmetic jars on Amazon and fill them up with your coffee face mask! The tinted glass protects from the sunlight. The coffee face mask will be quite solid when you scoop it out but it will melt quickly once it touches your skin. If kept in the fridge it will last weeks!
They make great personalised presents too!
I hope this lifts your mood, it does mine!
Stay Safe all xx
Body Scrub:
Added 2 August 2021
Recently , I ran out of body exfoliator and I haven’t got around to getting more yet. I had been planning on getting exfoliating gloves but then thought, why don’t I just use my old coffee grinds?! Yes, thats right. Old/Used coffee grinds! The face mask above calls for fresh, finely powdered ground for two main reasons: the skin on your face is much more sensitive and soft, so you want to use a more gentle exfoliant on your face than your body, always. Secondly, caffeine is good for your skin, so by putting unused coffee on your face, we are maximising that possibility. You are more than welcome to grind fresh beans for this body scrub, but it’s not so important here. We just want to get rid of the dead skin cells and make use of old coffee grounds.
The skin on my legs and thighs were really dry and I just felt like a good exfoliation and this really did the trick!
For my body scrub I’m using used espresso grounds, but depending on the coffee you drink, used filter coffee grounds should be ok if they are not too coarse. The mix is really simple, just coffee grounds, some soft brown (or caster) sugar, epsom salts if you have any and oil. You can use olive oil or avocado oil from the supermarket. But I used Caycay oil and Pomegranate oil I recently bought to try from my new favourite skincare range, Facetheory - a UK based natural sustainable skincare brand I’ve been trying for a while. They had a sale on, so I bought up. Side note, the pores on my face were really enlarged a few weeks ago, so I’ve been using their C-pores toner (with niacinamide) and my pores definitely have improved and my skin is so much smoother! (not sponsored!), So I think my coffee face mask will be even more effective now! I digress…
Body Scrub Recipe
Coffee grinds ( depending on how much you have) lets say 150g
Brown or Caster sugar (approximately 1/3 of the amount of coffee grounds, so 50g
Epsom salts - 2/3 of the coffee you used, so abut 100g
Oil - enough to get the mixture really wet and spreadable. If its a little more, then thats ok. It will leave your body feeling moisturised.
You’re more than welcome to add some drops of essential oils if you like, for a nice smell, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Your body will feel a little tingly. So moisturise afterwards. Don’t scrub too hard. Just massage in circles. It will make a bit of a mess in the shower, you can’t avoid that, so hopefully that won’t deter you! I would recommend using the body scrub about 2 times a week. And keeping it in a sealable container. You can also take a little away with you on summer holidays.
I hope you try this if you get stuck in a similar situation. This is a really cost effective and easy way to get your bod smooth and supple.
Enjoy!